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Choosing A Vet

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Loobyg83

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Hi all, the girlies are all fine and appear to be in good health but I want to register with a vet in case we ever need to make a dash for it! No such thing as a local vet but a few in neighbouring towns.... so how do I go about deciding which to use? Nearest one listed on the vet locator is an hour away in cardiff. I have it narrowed down to three so far....
 
Have you got a local guinea pig rescue. If so, ask them who they use :) x
 
We got them from our 'local' rescue - they are also 45 mins away so aren't familiar with the vets down this way!
 
I would ring up the various vets within your closer reach and enquire about how familiar they are with dealing with guinea pigs and whether they are willing to contact or have got access to an exotics/guinea pig specialist. These are the main points to hopefully narrow down the field somewhat. After that, you are down to field testing to see whether you are happy with them or not quite impressed.

if I were you, I would keep the specialist in Cardiff in the address book for any complicated cases and operations etc. when seeing a piggy savvy vet can really make the difference between life and death. I am doing the same with my local general vets and a specialist a couple of towns over, which is about an hour's trip away from me as I have to go by train - it has saved the life of several piggies of mine. On the other hand, the specialist is too far for emergencies or run of the mill stuff when getting an appointment promptly is important to start a course of antibiotics.
 
The ringing idea does work, we found our vet 4 miles away from us who is amazing. There are lots of undiscovered vets out there...
 
I would first look for a vet that advertises as being experienced with animals other than cats and dogs. In Ontario, where I am, these vets typically advertise as taking 'exotics.' Not that guinea pigs are necessarily all that exotic, but it generally means that the vet in question don't just do dogs and cats, but have experience with birds, lizards, rodents, etc. I would call up those vets and ask them in general, how much experience do they have with guinea pigs specifically. I also tend to want to know how much experience they have with rabbits, because in my are rabbits are more likely to be taken to the vet than guinea pigs, but have similar needs as far as dental care/abscess care, which seem to be pretty common issues. I would narrow it down to a couple possibles and take one of the pigs to a well visit so you can ask more specific questions, like what antibiotics they prescribe for pigs, whether they have experience with dental issues, whether they perform small animal surgeries, etc. Hopefully you can find someone reasonably close who has specific guinea pig experience. I also agree with Wiebke... in the event of something big, it might be worth going to see one of the really experienced vets who have performed that op or treated that problem before, but in the event of a URI or UTI or something where antibiotics are needed, having a working relationship with someone local is a great thing- and hopefully you can luck out and find someone convenient who is a pro with pigs as well!
 
We have a winner! The first vet I called I spoke to the director of small mammals. He has kept piggies for 40 years and been a vet for 18.... I think he may be qualified!
 
We have a winner! The first vet I called I spoke to the director of small mammals. He has kept piggies for 40 years and been a vet for 18.... I think he may be qualified!

Great news! See how things go. Our list is always open for more suggestions. :tu:
 
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